This supposed ace is in a hole

The most disturbing thing is that you're not surprised by how poorly Josh Beckett pitched yesterday.

You didn't expect his performance against the Yankees to match his enormous talent. You didn't expect him to be the stopper, a pitcher who can raise his team at its lowest moments, as we've seen over the years from Roger Clemens, Pedro Martínez, and Curt Schilling. Those are No. 1s, and even if Beckett is a No. 2, we used to see Bruce Hurst, Mike Boddicker, or Frank Viola throw a beauty when his team needed it most.

You didn't expect it from Beckett because he hasn't done it. Not for the Red Sox, anyway. His sterling performance in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, a 2-0 shutout over the Yankees that clinched it for the Marlins, is a distant memory.

Maybe someday Beckett, who has the most hollow 13 wins in the majors this season, will return to that form. But someday should have been yesterday. And whether he was squeezed by plate umpire Joe West or simply lacked command, whether he was tipping his pitches or just didn't feel right, Beckett walked nine batters. There's no excuse for that. And there's no chance you'll beat Randy Johnson doing that.

You have to go back to enigmatic lefthander Rogelio Moret on Aug. 22, 1975, to find the last Sox starter to issue nine free passes. This is a team that has employed the likes of Matt Young, Mike Brown, John Dopson, and many other pitchers who didn't know where the ball was going half the time. And none of them ever walked nine.

Beckett was correct when he described his performance as ``unacceptable" and ``brutal." Even Jason Johnson, who went 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader before being designated for assignment, pitched better than Beckett.

Alex Rodriguez, who is as confused at the plate as he's been at any time in his illustrious career, had the sense to look at four straight balls with the bases loaded in the sixth inning yesterday, making it 6-5 in what would become a 13-5 Yankee win, before Sox manager Terry Francona, who had made a trip to the mound just prior to A-Rod's at-bat, returned to get to the ball from his 26-year-old righthander.

``I was wondering if there was something wrong with him," Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry said of Beckett. ``I don't recall him pitching that way ever. If you're plugging away at a guy like that and make him work, you can get his pitch count up.

``From where I was in that third base dugout, I couldn't necessarily see whether he was missing side to side, up and down, but he missed a lot. He just wasn't comfortable out there."

Another former major league pitcher who has watched a few of Beckett's recent starts suggested that Beckett's focus might not be where he needs it, especially now that's he's in the American League and facing tougher lineups.

``It seems that he'll get someone out in the first inning and by the time he faces the guy again in the third, he's forgotten how he got the guy out in the first," said the ex-pitcher.

Beckett, who is 0-3 with an 8.75 ERA in his last four starts, struggled with his mechanics throughout and was asked whether the walks were a result of his stubbornness in sticking with his game plan.

``Some of it was definitely mechanics, not being able to get through the ball," he said. ``But I think some of it was my stubborn stupidness, if you will, because a lineup like that, you've got to throw strikes to them."

The Yankees certainly had a great plan, not unlike the one they try against most opponents: make the pitcher work, get him frustrated, and then go in for the kill.

``When Josh is pitching, he has that great high fastball, breaking pitch, and sometimes you definitely feel like you might get one good pitch to hit," Jason Giambi said. ``He's definitely the type of guy you want to get to early, but we didn't, but we remained patient with him, took some pitches, made him get it over the plate. When you can score off Josh, you feel like you've accomplished something."

Beckett, now 13-8 with a 5.35 ERA, said he was aware of what was at stake yesterday. Aware of how desperately his team needed him to pitch deep into the game and stop the Yankees' lineup cold.

Francona likely realized early on it wasn't going to be a stellar day for his righthander, but thought if he could retire Rodriguez in the sixth and get out of the inning with a 5-5 tie, it would do the team and Beckett good. So Francona jogged to the mound and looked Beckett in the eye.

``I just wanted to see if he had enough to get A-Rod," said Francona. `` If he was out of gas, I was going to take him out. If he wasn't, I wanted to give him a chance to get him.

``I saw what you saw. It was a long afternoon, but he was competing his heart out."

Said Beckett, ``I definitely wanted to work deep in that game and that's why I wanted to get that last out. Tito came out there and had faith in me, and I blew that up. That all falls squarely on my shoulders."

Beckett's struggles could be as simple as his inability to adjust to AL lineups. He has pitched 158 innings this season, 20 2/3 shy of his career high with the Marlins last season.

Asked whether he thought Beckett would improve his mechanics and reduce his walks with maturity, Guidry said, ``He's been in the league five or six years already. I don't think it's a question of maturity."

Then what is it? It's starting to get too late to find the answer.